


Nightmares

by ArcticCalamity



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Nightmares, Suffering, dissociation with reality, possible no mercy route spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 16:48:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5171828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcticCalamity/pseuds/ArcticCalamity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans lost track of the timeline's he had experienced. Once upon a time he had counted each and every one, marking the joys and the successes. Then, every time the human came through, more bodies fell in their wake. Suddenly he was no longer feeling the joy of the sun on his face at the end, but instead was watching in horror as his brother broke apart into dust. Again, and again, he watches everyone he loves crumble and disappear. Something like that was bound to give him nightmares.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> I've never actually posted anything on AO3 before so I hope I did all this tagging right? Please let me know if I missed something.  
> You can read it on Tumblr here: http://bewvitched.tumblr.com/post/132101038343/ive-become-undertale-and-soriel-trash-forgive

As much as Sans liked to sleep, he never liked to dream. The episodes happened more frequently when he did. Sometimes, during the day, he’d pause as memories flooded through his head. A part of Sans recognized that they didn’t belong to this him, this time, but they still haunted him. The memories plagued him when he looked around. Monsters reduced to piles of dust, vacant towns and a child with a knife who cut down his brother as Papyrus offered them a second chance. Sometimes when Papyrus was explaining a puzzle or lecturing him, Sans would look up and reality would be gone. All he would see is Papyrus’ face as he began to crumble, the look of betrayal on his face tearing a hole through Sans’ body. Soon, however, he would be brought back by his brother’s voice or Undyne’s shouts or the laughter of his friends. They could solidly bring him back to reality, to the present where no one is dead and they are all free.

At night, however, he doesn’t have the luxury of a familiar voice or a soothing presence. He is all alone in the darkness, the swirling thoughts in his mind that tell him everyone is dead. He watches as the world around him falls apart, as the kid stands before him in a shining golden hallway. He’s there again, at the final showdown, before he is inevitably lost until the reset. He can’t dodge forever, and they just keep attacking. He knows he’s just an obstacle in the kid’s path, like his brother and Undyne and the lady behind the door. Toriel. The name sweeps through his head and for a moment everything wavers. That’s right. He knows her name now. Toriel. The former queen. The kid swings once more, ready to take advantage of Sans’ distraction, but they shatter like glass with the world around him. The hallway, the knife, it all breaks away into an inky blackness.

He can remember the first time he knocked on the door and never received an answer. Originally he thought that maybe she had left to do something. Maybe she had a pie in the oven or a book to read. Sans’ understood that. He couldn’t stay at the door forever either. It was only a matter of time before one of them was called away. He was in front of the door now. The snow whips around him in an icy flurry and the trees feel closer, tighter than normal. He knows he will have to get back soon, but he deserves a small break. Just a quick one. The door looms before him and he raises his hand to knock. He has a joke ready that will make the woman laugh and he can’t wait to share it. But before he can, her voice comes from behind the solid stone.

“Hello? Are you there?” Her tone is somber, and a little hurried.

“Hey you’re early. You’re supposed to wait until I knock, remember?” He grins. She is always so eager for jokes.

“I’m sorry. I don’t have much time. Please. Will you promise me something?”

That surprises him. He rarely makes promises, especially to strangers. Sans doesn’t want to be tied down to a commitment he might not want to keep. He wants to say no, that he is sorry. But even as the words are on his tongue, he can’t bring himself to say it.

“Yeah. What do you need?” he says.

“If you see a human come through here. Please. Please take care of them.”

“A human? What do you-“

“I have to go. Thank you. For everything.” She sounds much calmer now, almost at peace.

Nothing has happened yet, but somehow he knows that in a few minutes, a human will come through the door. They will meet Sans by the bridge and laugh at his hilarious gag. But they don’t laugh. He stands on the bridge, holding his hand out. They seem to have heard the joke before. Then they won’t even play along with Papyrus’ puzzles. By the time he watches his brother fall to the human he isn’t sure if he’s there for real or if he’s just imagining what could happen. Either way the human leaves and he can’t bear to see them again. He knows that he normally meets them further on, but not this time.

He’s still in front of the door. Is the human behind it? Have they passed him already? Yes, wait no. He isn’t sure. But he can see the door is cracked and he wonders if the lady is alright. He’s never stepped beyond this point. He hasn’t been past the door to the ruins in so long he isn’t even sure if he’s ever been there. Sans takes a step forward, then another, hearing the crunch of snow beneath his feet. He tugs the door open more and steps inside. The room is cold and dim, just barely lit with a few sputtering torches. He takes another step, then one more. Something slides beneath his feet, like a pile of dirt. He looks down, but he can’t quite see in the dim light. Sans kneels on the floor and touches the dirt. He holds his hand up to his face and watches the soft grey silt fall through his fingers. His heart drops to his stomach as he looks at it. Toriel. He knows it’s her but he can’t place why. He isn’t even sure how he knows that name, he just does. His head is pounding and his arms are shaking.

The next thing Sans knows is that it’s dark. He’s on his back and the left side of his head is throbbing. He sits up, feeling his bed solidly beneath him. He was sleeping again. He can still see the image in his mind. Somehow, somewhere, he’s still kneeling in the dust. He grabs his phone from the bedside table. His hands are shaking as he turns it on and he takes a moment to just stare at the bright screen. It’s glowing, showing a picture they had taken on the surface. He’s there with Toriel and Frisk and his brother. Frisk is on his shoulders and everyone is smiling. That was real. That happened. But he still saw only dust and again he was watching everyone he loved fall around him. It was only him. He was the only one left. He opened Toriel’s contact and held his thumb over the call button. It was so easy, just press call. Toriel would pick up and Sans would laugh and tell her a joke, even though it’s the middle of the night.

He presses the button. The phone rings, then rings again. Sans is still shaking and he can feel it going to voicemail. His head is still pounding and he’s having trouble focusing.

“Hello?” Toriel’s voice calls out from the other line. Sans feels his body relaxing, just a bit. The throbbing begins to subside and he laughs.

“Hey Tori.”

“Sans…is that you? Are you alright?”

“Yeah.” he says. He smiles and brings his knees to his chest. “Yeah, I’m fine.”


End file.
